Swiss Stocks Climb as Adecco, OC Oerlikon Shares Advance

May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Swiss stocks advanced to their highest
level in more than five years as companies from Adecco SA to OC
Oerlikon Corp. rose after reporting earnings.

Adecco increased 2.5 percent after posting a gross margin
for the first three months of the year that beat analysts’
estimates. OC Oerlikon gained 2.8 percent after saying that its
first-quarter results met its own forecasts.

The Swiss Market Index climbed 0.6 percent to 7,977.54 at
the close of trading in Zurich, its highest level since January
2008. The equity benchmark has risen for eight consecutive
months, its longest monthly winning streak in seven years. The
SMI has rallied 17 percent this year. The broader Swiss
Performance Index also added 0.6 percent today.

Swiss stocks climbed, “driven mainly by financials and the
cyclical sector,” Ion-Marc Valahu, co-founder and fund manager
at Clairinvest in Geneva, wrote in an e-mail.

Adecco gained 2.5 percent to 51.95 Swiss francs after the
world’s biggest supplier of temporary workers described its
first-quarter results as solid given the recession in many
European countries. Adecco’s sales of 4.6 billion euros ($6
billion) missed the average analyst forecast in a Bloomberg
survey of 4.7 billion euros.

OC Oerlikon increased 2.8 percent to 11.20 francs as the
textile-machinery maker reiterated its forecast for the full
year after reporting first-quarter revenue of 723 million francs
($769 million). The company generated sales of 737 million
francs in the same quarter last year.

Dufry, Tornos

Dufry AG gained 2.2 percent to 127.70 francs after
predicting that its performance will improve in the second half
of this year. The operator of duty-free shops also reported that
revenue increased 1.7 percent to 736.4 million francs in the
first quarter. That missed the average analyst estimate of 741.2
million francs.

Tornos Holding AG slumped 6 percent to 4.05 francs, its
lowest price in more than nine years, after saying that
customers have postponed orders, exacerbating its loss.

The maker of machines for precision components said new
orders fell 32 percent in the first quarter to 43.8 million
francs. The Moutier-based company’s products help make Swiss
watches, aircraft screws and medical devices.